Fitness boost for Proteas duo

Injury doubts Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla have both been included in the South Africa squad for the first Test against India.

Last Updated: 03/12/10 5:24pm

Injury doubts Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla have both been included in the South Africa squad for the first Test against India in Centurion.

Both players are now expected to be fit for the opening contest of the three-match series, which starts on December 16.

Proteas captain Smith suffered a broken bone in his hand during the first one-day international against Pakistan in October but carried on playing for most of the tour.

Swelling and discomfort during the second and final Test finally forced him to take some time off but he should be back to full fitness for the series with India.

Amla was injured after being struck on the wrist while fielding in the second Test against Pakistan, forcing him to miss some domestic action in South Africa.

"We were waiting to hear from our medical staff about the status of Graeme and Hashim's injuries but they are confident the pair will be fine," Cricket South Africa's convenor of selectors Andrew Hudson said.

Overall, South Africa have retained the 14 players that travelled to the United Arab Emirates to play Pakistan and have added all-rounder Ryan McLaren.

Hudson added: "It is nice to bring Ryan back and we thought it was important to keep the rest of the guys together."

The squad is expected to assemble on December 12 before preparing for the series, which pits the top two ranked Test teams in the world against each other.